Can Sex Improve Your Running Performance?

Here’s a compelling argument for getting racy before heading out for a run: 48 percent of runners under age 40 say that having sex before a race fueled their performance, according to a new survey of 1,000 male and female runners from Brooks Running.

Okay, so it’s not like this was a scientific poll or anything. But it made us wonder—can sex give your running workout an edge? The answer is a definite yes, says sexologist Yvonne K. Fulbright, Ph.D. First, sex is like any cardio activity, getting your blood pumping and your heart rate going. But since most sex sessions aren’t crazy physically demanding (which is why sex doesn't really count as a workout), it serves as kind of a warm-up to your run, heating muscles and joints and making you more flexy.

The Running Test You Should Be Able to Pass

Back in grade school, you ran one mile for the President's Challenge Physical Fitness Test to show how aerobically fit you were. As an adult, you’re lucky if sprinting on the basketball court or chasing your kids across the lawn doesn’t leave you sucking wind. But holding your own during a short run is important as you get older. Regular aerobic exercise reduces your risk of heart disease and helps keep your body fat low.

Test yourself with a 1.5-mile run on a flat road or track. “It’s a good predictor for your work capacity, ability to recover quickly, and do more work in general,” says Steve Di Tomaso, C.S.C.S., endurance athlete and strength coach for Envision Fitness in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Compare your time to the average guy in your age group. If you fall short or want to be better than average, add Di Tomaso’s running and strength workouts to your routine to increase your gains.

4 Reasons Running is Best for Weight Loss

By From the editors of Runner's World | Healthy Living 

Any exercise is good exercise, but when it comes to losing weight, it's hard to beat running. After all, running is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories and get fit without having to restrict your diet. If you're already a runner, keep on keepin' on. If you're not a runner yet but interested in losing weight, here are four reasons running can be the best exercise for weight loss. 

1. Running works even when you're at rest. High-intensity exercise like running stimulates more "afterburn" than low-intensity exercise. That is, even when comparing running with walking the same distance, studies find that running will lead to greater weight loss, most likely because your resting energy expenditure stays elevated after you run. In a long-term comparison study of runners and walkers, calories burned through running led to 90% more weight loss than calories burned through walking.

4 Reasons Running is Best for Weight Loss

Any exercise is good exercise, but when it comes to losing weight, it's hard to beat running. After all, running is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories and get fit without having to restrict your diet. If you're already a runner, keep on keepin' on. If you're not a runner yet but interested in losing weight, here are four reasons running can be the best exercise for weight loss.